Calgary is the largest city in Alberta, Canada. In Calgary, there are 56 buildings that stand taller than 100 metres (328 ft). The tallest building in the city is The Bow, standing at 58 stories, 236 m (774 ft). It is the tallest building in Canada outside of Toronto. The second-tallest building in the city is the 53-storey, 215 m (705 ft) Suncor Energy Centre.[1] The third-tallest building in the city is Eighth Avenue Place I, standing at 212.3 m (697 ft) tall with 49 storeys.[2] The Calgary Tower is included for comparison purposes; however, it is not ranked since it is not considered a habitable building.
Calgary's history of towers began with the Grain Exchange Building (1910), the Fairmont Palliser Hotel (1914), and the Elveden Centre. Building construction remained slow in the city until the early 1970s. From 1970 to 1990, Calgary witnessed a major expansion of skyscraper and high-rise construction. Many of the city's office towers were completed during this period, such as the First Canadian Centre and the Canterra Tower office towers. A ten-year lull in building construction came after the expansion, though Calgary experienced a larger second building expansion beginning in the late 90s and continuing into the present.[3] Currently, the city has height restrictions that prevent any building from casting a shadow over the Bow River and the city hall, however, winter months are excluded from this limit. There is no other imposed limits elsewhere in the city, which could allow for some extremely tall buildings. The Bow Tower was originally rumored to be at least 1000 feet tall but reduced to comply with these rules.
The tallest development that is under construction in Calgary is Brookfield Place East. On November 28, 2012, it was announced that the redesigned proposal for Herald Square would be increased, making it taller than The Bow which was recently completed as Calgary's tallest building. At 247 m (810 ft) and 56 stories, the building is expected to become the tallest in the city and the tallest in Canada outside of Toronto.
As of March 2013, there are 16 skyscrapers over 100 m (328 ft) and 47 high-rises over 35 m (115 ft) under construction, approved for construction, and proposed for construction in the City of Calgary. After this skyscraper boom, Calgary's skyline will have dramatically changed, having added at least the new tallest and third tallest buildings in Western Canada in 2012, The Bow and Eighth Avenue Place respectively.[4]
As of March 2014, there are 32 completed buildings that stand at least 122 m (400 ft) in Calgary. An equal sign (=) following a rank indicates the same height between two or more buildings
(*) Although Calgary's two largest structures are actually CFCN-TV's twin communication towers, they are not self-supporting and are assisted by cables (guyed). This is not unlike most stand-alone communications antennae.
The taller of three ski jump towers built for the 1988 Winter Olympics; 90 meters is the distance a ski jumper travels from the terminus, not the height of the structure
This lists buildings that once held the title of tallest building in Calgary. Although it is not a building, the Calgary Tower was the city's tallest free standing structure from 1968 until 1983 when it was surpassed by the Suncor Energy Centre's West tower.